Don’t worry! This is not going to be a post in BM but I do like this song and others by the late Indonesian singer Broery Marantika (including “Angin Malam“). If I’m not mistaken, “Sabar Menanti” was featured in the movie in which he starred with Datuk Sharifah Aini, “Hapuslah Airmatamu“.

However, this is not going to be a post about songs either – in whatever language. It’s just that the other day I dropped by this new Sri Menanti place here in Sibu…

It is located in the new shophouses in the vicinity of the Sibu bus station, the corner lot from the Rasa Sayang Cafe – two doors away from the kampua place, in fact. I never asked them, so I’m not exactly sure whether it is a branch of the Sri Menanti that has been in business for a long time now at Jalan Hardin, and there is another outlet in the block behind the building where the Sugar Bun Gateway is.

There is the cafe downstairs…

…and upstairs, it seems that they have a restaurant and a karaoke joint…

I wanted a quick lunch that day so I opted for the nasi campur (mixed rice) or what they call the economy fried rice though I feel “economical” is the correct word to use. I had the sweet and sour fish fillet, the black pepper calamari (sotong) and the long beans fried with belacan (dried prawn paste)…

…and I must say it was very delicious (although a bit cold, except for the rice) and very cheap too! Only RM3.00! The complimentary clear soup that came with it was actually very tasty too! At most eateries, the soup tastes like salt water with a sprinkling of fried shallots!

Well, that was a good first impression and I certainly will go back there again to try the other things that they have in store! In the meantime, they can sabar menanti (wait patiently)… LOL!!!

I was invited to dinner the other day (Friday night) at the Blue Splendour Restaurant here in Sibu. I like that place very much as the food is more often than not, remarkably good and a lot better than what you can get at the Chinese restaurants in the big hotels or elsewhere.

Our families have known one another for years. The eldest brother was my classmate and a good friend, the second brother and I had some “good” times together during our younger days and now, the youngest of the boys had graciously asked me to join in their mother’s 80th birthday celebration…

The dinner started off with the Foochow mee sua (thread noodles) in chicken soup – a must at every birthday celebration to ensure longevity…

…followed by the Four Seasons, except that there were more than four, as you can see in the photo…

…after which came the not-to-be-named soup (As usual, no photo!) and this steamed white pomfret (ikan bawal putih)…

The roast duck with mantao (steamed buns) came next and despite being different from the Peking Duck that most people are more familiar with, it was very nice and I had a second helping…

There was an extra bun as my missus doesn’t eat duck! (But that also means that we do not have any duck dishes at home! Sob!) I think there was a vegetable dish that followed but those at my table were a bit too fast and I did not manage to get that one before it was all gone! LOL!!! I managed to snap the sea cucumber dish…

…and what was left of the deliciously delightful prawns…

But I failed to take one of the plate of Longevity peaches too, so I had to resort to taking the one I had on its own in my plate…

and the fruit platter came last. No photo of that, of course! I’m sure you’ve seen fruits before! Hahahahaha!!!

There was a lot of singing that night, and some dancing too…

…but other than the food, what I enjoyed most was the opportunity I had to meet old friends and acquaintances yet once again after all these years. Actually I came down with flu (Again!) that afternoon but I took some medication and went for the dinner (as I had promised I would be there, not because I’m so greedy…or maybe that too! ROTFLMAO!!!) and no regrets whatsoever! I’m glad I went…

When we got home around 10 something that night, lo and behold! A wonderful sight awaited us…

My missus told me that the plant would flower at midnight and the blooms would close by morning. Thus, it would be quite difficult to catch the flowers in all their glory and according to her, they symbolise good fortune. Great! If that is the case, I guess I certainly can look forward to showers of good fortune upon me and my family and the birthday celebrant and hers in this coming year.

And to you, my friend, thanks so much for the invitation!

P.S.:
Kindly note that my friend has requested for anonymity in this post, so those in the know, please refrain from stating specific names in your comments. Thanks.

My daughter left home yesterday on the 11.55 a.m. MAS flight from Sibu to KLIA. Upon arrival just before 2.00 p.m., to her horror, her 3.30 p.m. flight to Penang had been cancelled and thankfully, they were able to put her on the 5.10 p.m. one instead. The only consolation was she was given a lunch voucher, so she had her favourite Swiss Cheese Mushroom burger at Burger King. She arrived safely in Penang at around 6 p.m. and was in the good hands of my dear friend, Eng and his family. She spent the night at his place in Bukit Mertajam and he’ll send her to Sungai Petani this morning. Gosh! I wish she had been given a place in an institute in KL or much nearer to Sibu. Sigh!

This photo was taken prior to her departure at Sibu airport…

…and as you can see, it did not seem like she had put on much weight since she came back in mid-November…

…despite the eating sprees that we had had.

Ah well! Just don’t say we did not feed her! LOL!! On New Year’s Eve, for instance, her mother fried some crabs for dinner…

…and baked some chicken wings with lots of cheese…

…and around Christmas time, she cooked some chicken curry…

and I also cooked a lot of her favourite dishes as well, plus we did get to eat out a lot to enjoy all the things that she loved.

Now, it is back to the old routine…and to close this post, these lines from the lyrics of Beverley Craven’s “Promise Me” somehow keep ringing in my ears:…When I go away I’ll miss you
And I will be thinking of you
Every night and day just …

Promise me you’ll wait for me
‘cos I’ll be saving all my love for you
And I will be home soon
Promise me you’ll wait for me
I need to know you feel the same way too
And I’ll be home, I’ll be home soon…

Well, it was the start of a new year yesterday and following the Chinese tradition, we had Foochow mee sua (thread noodles) in ang chiew (red wine) chicken soup for longevity and in the evening, we went for the New Year buffet at Kingwood Hotel.

At RM45 nett per head, there was a lot to choose from, more than what one may get at their usual Saturday and Sunday night buffet dinners (RM30++ per head) and I finally had my turkey…

…and lamb…

I asked the chef at the station to carve me some, and good grief! I was served one plateful!!!

Among the items available, I loved the chilli crabs best…

…but it was kind of messy to eat crabs at the pseudo-formal environment, so I only had a little. The roast chicken was nice too…

…and the fried snowfish and honey chicken as well. The shish kebabs were a bit dry though…

I did not take photographs of the rest of the buffet spread as I was dying to start feasting on the food already…but I did manage to take a few more from the salad counter, including the umai (Melanau-style raw fish)…

…and I could not resist taking snapshots of the very colourful dessert counter with all the cakes and tartlets…

Well, some may feel that it is quite pricey…but what the heck! It’s only once a year…and frozen turkey’s over RM200 a bird at Ta Kiong this year! And besides, my daughter will be going back to Sungai Petani, Kedah today to start her first year for her TESL degree…and you can bet that when she comes home the next holidays, she’ll be skin and bone left! Sigh!!! If only I could just pack up and follow her there to take care of her meals…

Happy New Year, everybody! I hope you all had a blast last night urshering in 2009, the Year of the Ox and we certainly pray that it will be a good one…

I have survived one year in retirement. It was pretty okay and my days had been somewhat routine after my mother was discharged from the medical centre. Unlike when I was still teaching and involved in a whole lot of things, I did not get to travel much except to Lundu, Kuching, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu…

…and my missus and I were in Penang with our daughter during the Chinese New Year break…

…and I went over again in August to spend the one-week holidays with her in Sungai Petani, Kedah…

I am glad I started this blog in March, though not by choice, as from blogging, I have made a lot of new friends and got to meet a number of them, for instance, Joseph and Faisal Admar in Penang…

…Willchua from Sarikei, Kongkay and Alvin from Kuching, Sibu-blogger cum photographer Philip aka rubberseeds, Yan (who happens to be my tuition student’s mum) and my long-lost cousin, James (now settled in Miri), Cibol (then in Bintulu but now in KL) and Bongkersz (then in KL, later in Kuching and back in KL but now in Miri) with and without and with hair…

(This is a recent photo taken by Goolooloo. Borrow your photo, ok or not, Mary? Gee! Has he grown older or what? LOL!!!)

…and I do hope to meet more in 2009. Stanley Carter has been my neighbour for years but we had never made the acquaintance, one reason being he’s a lot younger, and through blogging, now we already know each other! So, when are we getting to meet, Victor? LOL!!!

There were lots of happy occasions like Sophia’s 50th birthday…

…and Kpenyu’s too, weddings such as Jude & Claire’s and David & Laura’s…

…and there were times of sorrow too when my dear Uncle Peter passed away, and an aunt in KK and another in Singapore too.

Moneywise, I was fine – with my pension supplemented by what I got from the little bit of tuition that I did…and of course, there had been lots of good food all year round…

So what is the coming year going to be like for me? Well, I got this prediction for Dragons via email:

It will be a smooth year, Every matter will be favourable. There will be much joyous news. Beware of petty people that might be jealous of you. Be humble and modest. Wealth luck is excellent and beneficial for both normal income and windfall luck. Your health should be fine this year.

I certainly hope it is going to be another fabulous year for me…and also for you! Cheers!!!

Is it just me or what is it about New Year’s Eve that always seems to make me feel kind of emotional, sort of remorseful that another year has gone by – however good or bad it may be and without fail, each year, this song originally by Barry Manilow always comes to mind?

The lyrics of the song go like this:Don’t look so sad,
It’s not so bad you know.
It’s just another night, that’s all it is,
It’s not the first, it’s not the worst you know,
We’ve come through all the rest,
we’ll get through this.

We’ve made mistakes,
but we’ve made good friends too.
Remember all the nights we spent with them?

And all our plans,
who says they can’t come true?
Tonight’s another chance to start again.

We’re not alone,
we’ve got the world, you know.
And it won’t let us down,
just wait and see.
And we’ll grow old,
but think how wise we’ll grow.
There’s more, you know –
it’s only New Year’s Eve.

It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
another night like all the rest.
It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
let’s make it the best.
It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
it’s just another Auld Lang Syne,
but when we’re through,
this New Year, you’ll see, will be just fine.

You may click this link to hear this song – the very beautiful version by Lea Salonga, the international star from the Philippines of “Miss Saigon” fame…but don’t blame me if it brings a tear to your eye. A Happy New Year, everyone from STP, Mrs STP and Melissa…and may God bless all of us in the days ahead in 2009.

Ah well, I do not know of any song about shepherds and I would not think “American Pie” is an appropriate title, but this post is going to be about the shepherd pie that I made on Sunday – my version of it, that is!

Normally, for the pie filling, I will use minced beef, peas and a lot of garlic – fried with whatever sauce that I can find in the fridge e.g. smoked barbecue sauce. But this time, I had neither minced beef nor peas, so I decided to fry some corned beef with thinly-sliced Bombay onions and with that, I lined the bottom of my rectangular-shaped Pyrex casserole and pressed it down gently…

For the cover, I would need some mashed potatoes. Nope, I will never use those that come in boxes at the supermarts. I saw some KL hotel chef doing that in one of the cooking shows. Actually, it is very easy to make. Just boil some potatoes until soft, peel them and remove the eyes. Then, you mash them with a tablespoon of butter, some grated cheese and milk. I just used fresh milk but somebody told me it would be nicer with powdered milk.

Having made the mashed potatoes, I covered the corned beef in the casserole with it and used a fork to draw ridges on the surface. Then I put it in the oven to bake for around half and hour…

When it had turned slightly brown at the edges, I removed it from the oven…

You may keep it in the oven a while longer if you want it darker – just don’t burn it! LOL!!! After I had taken it out, I cut them into squares and served…

Perhaps I should have pressed down the corned beef harder to make it stick together but there really was not much of it from one can and I only had one in the pantry. Still, it was delicious and at that serving size, there should be enough for eight. Really easy to make, don’t you think?